Self-driving 132 ft vessel that can spend three months scouring the oceans for hostile submarines WITHOUT a crew will be put in action by the US Navy this year
- A prototype of this autonomous ship has been transferred to the US Navy
- The anti-submarine warfare vessel could join naval operations this year
- The ship will operate for around 30 to 90 days at sea without a crew
- Sea Hunter relies on radar and cameras to spot other vessels
The US Navy is set to roll out a self-driving drone warship that can hunt down enemy submarines.
Dubbed the 'Sea Hunter', the 132ft (40-metre) ship is designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board.
Now a prototype of this autonomous ship, capable of scouring the open seas for three months at a time, has been officially transferred to the US Navy.
The prototype can reach speeds of 27 knots and uses cameras and radar to track its location and spot other ships.
The anti-submarine drone could join active naval operations as early as this year, ushering in a new era for military warships.
The US Navy is set to roll out a self-driving drone warship that can hunt down enemy submarines. Dubbed the 'Sea Hunter', the 132ft (40-metre) ship is designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board
After two years of testing, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has officially transferred the ship to the Office of Naval Research (ONR).
ONR will continue to develop the prototype vehicle and when it enters service, the ship will operate for around 30 to 90 days at sea without a crew.
Powered by two diesel engines, the ship can reach speeds of 27 knots per hour.
The vessel is currently a surveillance platform and has no weapons on board.
It costs around $20 million (£14m) to build and around $20,000 (£14,000) a day to run which is significantly less expensive than crew-run ships.
Alexander Walan, a program manager in DARPA's Tactical Technology Office (TTO), said the move marks 'a significant milestone in developing large-scale USV technology and autonomy capabilities.'
The anti-submarine drone could join active naval operations as early as this year and would hail in a new era of warship
WHAT IS THE 'SEA HUNTER' WARSHIP?
The 132ft (40-metre) ship is designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board.
The anti-submarine warfare vessel could join active naval operations as early as 2018 and would hail in a new era of warship.
When it enters service, the ship will operate for around 30 to 90 days at sea without a crew.
Sea Hunter relies on radar and cameras to spot other vessels and will leave and return to port on its own.
Powered by two diesel engines, the ship can reach speeds of 27 knots per hour.
The 132ft (40-metre) ship is designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board
The vessel cost around $20 million (£14m) to build and around $20,000 (£14,000) a day to run which is significantly less expensive than crew-run ships.
While initial vessel tests require a pilot on board the ship, later tests are planned to have no personnel on board.
In initial testing of Sea Hunter's autonomy capability back in 2016, the ship successfully executed a multi-way-point mission with no person directing course or speed changes.
The completion of Sea Hunter's performance trials was the first milestone in the two-year test program co-sponsored by DARPA and the Office of Naval Research.
Experts say the vessel has the potential to revolutionise not only the military's maritime service but also commercial shipping.
The full-size prototype could pave the way to developing crewless cargo vessels for the commercial shipping industry someday. 'Our collaboration with ONR has brought closer to reality a future fleet in which both manned warships and capable large unmanned vessels complement each other to accomplish diverse, evolving missions.'
Sea Hunter is designed to operate for extended periods at sea with no person on board and only sparse supervisory control throughout deployment.
'ACTUV represents a new vision of naval surface warfare that trades small numbers of very capable, high-value assets for large numbers of commoditized, simpler platforms that are more capable in the aggregate,' said Fred Kennedy, TTO director.
'The US military has talked about the strategic importance of replacing 'king' and 'queen' pieces on the maritime chessboard with lots of 'pawns,' and ACTUV is a first step toward doing exactly that.'
Back in 2016, the ship successfully executed a multi-way-point mission with no person directing course or speed changes.
Now a prototype of this submarine-stalking autonomous ship that could scour the open seas for months as a time has been officially transferred to the US Navy
The ship's projected $20 million (£14.2 million) price tag and its $20,000 (£14,300) daily operating cost make it relatively inexpensive for the navy
The completion of Sea Hunter's performance trials was the first milestone in the two-year test program co-sponsored by DARPA and the Office of Naval Research.
Testing in 2016 including developing sensors, the vessel's autonomy suite, compliance with maritime collision regulations, and proof-of-concept demonstrations for a variety of US Navy missions.
Experts say the vessel has the potential to revolutionise not only the military's maritime service but also commercial shipping.
The full-size prototype could pave the way to developing crewless cargo vessels for the commercial shipping industry someday.
Countries from Europe to Asia have been looking into developing fleets of unmanned ships to cut down on operating costs but the idea has sparked debate over whether it's possible to make robotic boats safe enough to run on their own far from land.
The International Transport Workers' Federation, the union representing more than half of the world's more than one million seafarers, has said it does not believe technology will ever be able to replace the ability of humans to foresee and react to the various dangers at sea.
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